Throttle-valve-actuating mechanism.



J. M. COFFEY. THROTTLE VALVE ACTUATING MECHANISM.

' APPLICATION FILED IULY5. 19H- 1,289,667.,

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

3 SHEEIS-SHEET I.

(27 1 UQ/fgy amww/to z J. M. COFFEY. THROTTLE VALVE. ACTUATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FlLED JULY 5, I917- 1,289,667, Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. M. COFFEY.

THROTTLE VALVE ACTUATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED lUL Y5|19I7- 1,289,667.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

snow Mom JOSEPH M. COFFEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR 'I'O CHAMBERS VALVE COMPANY,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

THROTTLE-VALVE-ACTUATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application filed July 5, 1917. Serial No. 178,824.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, J OSEPH M. COFFEY, a

citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Throttle-Valve- Actuating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to improvements in throttle valve actuating mechanism partlcularly adapted for use on steam boilers of the locomotive type.

In order that a clearer understanding of the present invention may behad, it is to be noted that the present invention is directed to the mechanism for actuating the throttle valve of a locomotive by the engineer from within the cab. This mechanism as hereinafter described may be said to compr se broadly an actuating shaft connected with the throttle valve proper for moving the same relatively to its seat, a crank on said shaft and a pull rod extending rearwardly from the crank to a point adjacent the back head of the boiler where it is connected with the usual hand operated throttle lever. The boiler is, of course, exposed to relatively high temperatures or fluctuating temperatures of considerable magnitude while the temperature to which the pull rod is exposed, that is, the atmospheric temperature, is more nearly constant. There is, therefore, considerable difference in the relative expansion of these two elements under varying temperatures which has a tendency to and frequently does, cause a gradual opening of the throttle valve to such an extent as to cause an unintentional starting of the locomotive with possible disastrous results. It is, therefore, one of the objects of the present invention to overcome this principal objection, by so positioning, arranging and mounting the parts of the throttle valve actuating mechanism with respect to the boiler as to have .all the advantages of former constructions without the attendant disadvantages, as above stated. A further object is to provide a simple and practical throttle valve actuating mechanism having relatively few parts which will be inexpensive to manufacture and install. A

further object is to provide a mechanism of the above character which may be easily and quickly assembledand disassembled as when repairing, cleaning or replacing worn parts.

Other objects will be in part obvious from numerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as a part of this disclosure, and in such drawings like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout all the yiews, of which:

Flgures 1 and l together constitute a side elevational view of the complete mechanism with certain parts in section or broken away in order that the construction and operation may be more clearly understood;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevational view of a portion of the mechanism adjacent the steam dome; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section of a modified form of stuffing box.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and particularly to Figs. 1 and 1 5 denotes a boiler of the locomotive type provided with a usual back head 6 and a steam dome 7 containing a throttle valve of any desired type. As this valve forms no direct part of the present invention, it is believed to be unnecessary to illustrate and describe the same, except to state that it is provided with a main actuating shaft 8. This shaft 8 is inclosed within a sleeve 10 and projects outwardly through the side of the steam dome 7 and into a stufling box 11. A crank arm 12 is positioned at the end thereof and is pivotally connected with one link 13 of a pull rod which extends rearwardly to a point adjacent the back head 6 where it is connected with a throttle lever 14.

These parts are so positioned and arranged as to cause the shaft 8 to turn in a counterclockwise direction when the throttle lever 14.- is moved toward the left, thus opening the throttle valve within the dome and allowing the steam to pass tothe cylinders.

It is to be notednhowever, that the pull rodrpreferably contains besides the link 13,

connected with the crank arm 12,a relatively short link 15 pivotally connected thereto at 16, and also to a relatively ,long'link 17 pivotally connected at 18. The opposite end of the main rod l7 has'a threaded engage ment 20 with a cylindrical member 21 adapted to slide in a bearing member 22. The opposite end of the part 21 is pivotally connected at 23 with a relatively short link 24 whichfin-turn is pivotally connected at 25 T with the main throttle lever 14. This throttle lever is pivotally supported at 26 f from an arm 27 projecting from the bearing member or bracket22. A toothed segment 28 is also supported from the bracket 22 and 'is provided witha plurality of notches 30 on its under side and a drifting notch 31 on its upper side, the latter being adapted to be engagedby a spring actuated dog-32 while the former is engaged by a spring actuated dog 33. i The drifting notch dog which is spring actuated, will easily ride into and "out of engagement with the notch 3-1 on movement of the throttlel'ever. The engineer can easily tell by the sense of touch when his throttle is in drifting position.

The dog '33, however, is moved into and out of engagement with the teeth- 30 by the usualactuation'of a latch lever 34.

Heretofore' this; throttle lever 14 and associated p'art's'were' rigidly mounted directly upon the back head of the boiler or'closely adjacent thereto. In the present; case, however,tlney are 'slidably' supported from a bracket 35. A tubular-sleeve 36 is'mounted in this bracket and has a threaded engagement at 37 with the member 38 boltedt'o the Y bearing member 22 for the rear end of the pull rod. The opposite end of this sleeve 36 'also' has a threaded engagement with a bracket 40; Fig.1", rigidly mounted upon the stufling box 11. The reactive thrust exerted upon these parts on a leftward movement of the throttle lever is taken ijlp entire-ly by this sleeve which is rigidlys'upported by the 'stuffing box upon the steam dome and any difiereneeinr lati e expansion of the pull rodand associated parts and the boiler shell istaken up by the sliding connection of the sleeve 36 within ;the] bracket 35.-

"The'stuffing box shown inFigl jand Fig.

2"comprises the main bodymember 11 having arrange 41 through'which bolts 42 are passed to engage tapped out-recesses in the steam-dome 7 About'the sleeve 10 is mounted a curved or beveled adjusting member 43 is wider atone sidetha'n atthe other as appears-in Fig.3, whereby the stuffing "box may be adjustedjaxially with respect to ithe; opening iiithe steam dome-through which theshaft 8 passes. As is well known,

the steam "dome is' frequently of more orless 7 irregular curvature and the bearing member 43 permits the proper ali'nement of the stuifingxbox with respect to the openingregardless of its location. A nut 44 has a threaded engagement with the, sleevelO and holds the bearing member '43 in place. I

' The-right hand side of the .stufling box, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with a chamber 45 having ,a cover 46 rigidly secured thereto by means of bolts 47 This cover member also contains a. pocket48'in which rests one end of the shaft 8. As shown in Fig. 1 the-body member is provided with a lateral projection 40 through. which. the link 15 isadapted to pass. A gland con-z taining packing material 50 further prevents the escape of steam therethrough. This packing material is securely held in place by means of a member 51 fitting the link 15 and held in placeby means ofthe bolts 52.1.. i i

In Fig; 3, there is shown a'slight modification. In this case, the stuffing-boX proper is substantiallythe same as shownin' thecopending application: of Clark and Cofley,

Serial-Number 170,518,.filed 23, 1917 .5.

only that the outside end cover: 53 is provided. with a bracket 54 into which the sleeve 36 is threaded. The'pull rod- 17 4 passes through this sleeve and is connected at one end with a throttle lever as showninFig.

1 while its opposite end is again .pivotally. connected directly to the crank arm 12. r

- While it is believed that the operation and method of use of this apparatus is clear or from the above disclosure, it maybe stated briefly that by releasing the latch lever 34 on-the throttle lever 14 thespring dog 33-is drawn out of-engagement and thethrottle lever may be moved toward the left. I This Causes a gradual pull to be exerted u n :12.

the several'parts of the pull rod 17 to cause a movement of thesame toward the'left and consequently rotate. the main shaft 8 in 'a counter-clockwise direction, and thus, open the throttle valvein the usual way; The ill sleeve'36in which the uu a 17'is'mounted and finally absorbed by thestufiing box entire reactive movement is taken up by the mounted upon" the 'steam-dome'.-} Owing to thesliding support for the sleeve-36 fancl'a's Ti 'so'oi'ated parts any difierence in relative expansion between the throttle actuating meehanism and the boiler maybe considered as immaterial asit will have no effect upon the accidental closing or op'ening of-the throttle valve. V

Without furtheranalysis, 'the V will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A throttle valve actuating rod adapted to extend from the steam dome to the rear of the boiler, a throttle lever pivoted at one point to one end of said rod for actuating the throttle valve, a movable member associated with the rodto which said lever is also pivoted, and a fixed member on the boiler in which said rod is slidably supported through said movable member whereby said pivot points may have a bodily movement with respect to the boiler under varying degrees of relative expansion and contraction between the rod and boiler.

2. In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type, throttle valve actuating mechanism including a lever and rod, and supporting means upon the boiler permitting relative movement between the actuating mechanism as a whole and the boiler due to different degrees of expansion or contraction thereof.

3. In combination with a steam boiler, a fixed bracket thereon, a throttle valve actuating mechanism including a throttle lever pull rod and a bearing member for the lever on the pull rod, all slidably supported by said fixed bracket whereby said lever pull rod and bearing member may have an equal relatively bodily movement with respect to said fixed bracket.

4:. In combination with a steam boiler having a steam dome, a throttle valve actuating mechanism including an actuating lever pull rod and a bearing member on said pull rod to which said actuating lever is pivotally connected and a fixed bracket on the boiler, said pull rod being supported by the steam dome at one end and at its opposite end slidably resting in said fixed bracket whereby the pull rod actuating lever and bearing member may all move bodily with respect to the boiler when a difference in relative contraction and expansion of the pull rod and boiler takes place.

5. In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type having a steam dome, a stufling box on said dome, an actuating shaft passing through said stuffing box, a crank arm on said shaft, a bracket mounted upon the rear part of the boiler, a sleeve supported by said bracket and stuffing box and having a loose connection with one of said parts to permit relative movement due to difference in expansion of said sleeve and boiler, and a pull rod mounted 1n said sleeve and connected w1th sald crank arm.

6. In combination with a steam boiler of H the locomotive type having a steam dome, a throttle valve shaft passing through said dome, a stuffing box for said shaft, a crank arm on the shaft, a pull rod connected with the crank arm, a throttle lever connected ,7

sleeve being adapted to support said pull rod and transmit to the stufiing box the reactive pressure of a pull exerted upon the throttle lever.

7 In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type having a steam dome, a shaft passing out through said dome, a stuffing box for said shaft adjustably connected with said dome, a crank arm on the shaft, a pull rod connected with the crank arm extending toward the rear of the boiler, a stulfing box surrounding said pull rod adjacent its connection with the crank arm, a throttle lever connected with the pull rod, and means supporting said throttle lever from the boiler and permitting relative movement of said parts due to difi'erence in expansions.

8. In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type having a steam dome, a sleeve supported from the steam dome at one end, a bracket slidably supporting said sleeve at the other end, a pull rod within said sleeve adapted to be connected with the throttle valve within the dome, and a throttle lever for actuating said pull rod.

9. In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type having a steam dome, a bracket near the back head of the boiler, a member extending between the bracket and dome and slidably supported at one end, a pull rod carried by said member adapted to be connected with the throttle valve at one end, and a throttle lever and segment supported from said bracket.

10. In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type having a steam dome, a support near the back head of the boiler, a member extending between said support and dome and slidably supported at one end, a pull rod carried by said member adapted to be connected with the throttle valve at one end, and a throttle lever and segment supported from said member, said segment having a drifting notch on one side and a plurality of teeth upon the other and a latch lever on said throttle lever having dogs adapted to coact with said notches.

11. In combination with a steam boiler of the locomotive type having ,a steam dome, a throttle valve actuating shaft, a sleeve surrounding said shaft, a stuffing box adjustsaid member near'the rear end of the boiler,

a bearing connected with saidsleeve'carrying a throttle lever and a segment, v said a pull rod. t r

12. In combination with a steam boiler of V throttle lever being pivotally connected with V throttle lever pivotally connected'with said the locomotive type having a steam dome, a

throttle actuating shaft, a sleeve surrounding said shaft, a stufling box adjustably connected with said dome, a pull rod connected with said shaft, a packing gland surrounding the pull rod adjacent the stuffing box, a sleeve surroundingsaid pull rod, a bracket slidably supporting said sleeve near the rear end of the boiler, a member connected with said sleeve carrying a throttle lever and a segment, a drifting notch on said segment, a

plurality of teeth upon the opposite side of said segment, and spring actuated dogs adapted to coact with said notch and'teeth.

13. In combination with a steam boiler, a steam dome having a throttle valve, a pull rod connected therewith for actuating the same, a fixed bracket on the boiler, a bearing member associated with the pull rod and slidably supported in said fixed bearing,"a

bearing member and said pull rod, and

means whereby said lever may be locked in v adjusted position with respect to'sa'id bearpull rod in its contraction and expansion; 7

ing member thereby to move freely with said In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, Witnesses:

O. H. WEATHERLY,

E. GOODMAN.

"Copies of this patent may be 'ontained for five cents each, by addressing the .Gornmissioner 0 2mm,

Z Washington, I). O3 I 7 JOSEPH M.VGOFFEY. i 7 

